Uncle Sam Whacks Gallup for $10.5 Million
Uncle Sam Whacks Gallup for $10.5 Million
WASHINGTON (CN) - The Gallup Organization is 100 percent likely to pay $10.5 million to settle False Claims Act and procurement violations in federal contracts, the Department of Justice said Monday.
Uncle Sam sued Gallup in November 2012, claiming that the polling organization knowingly overstated its estimated labor hours in proposals to the U.S. Mint and State Department for contracts to be awarded without competition. As a result, Gallup got contracts from the two federal agencies at inflated prices.
"The settlement also resolves allegations that Gallup engaged in improper employment negotiations with a then-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, Timothy Cannon, in order to obtain a FEMA subcontract at an inflated price and additional FEMA funding after the subcontract had been awarded," the Department of Justice said in a statement.
Cannon agreed in April to pay $40,000 to settle a Procurement Integrity Act violation, and pleaded guilty to a criminal conflict of interest violation in January. He was sentenced to probation.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/16/59388.htm
